This is the first pantoum I ever wrote – all the way back in June 2016. I thought I’d include it for comments and feedback. WordPress has done that thing again, where it just ignores my formatting – sorry about that. This is being reposted for the dVerse form exploration. Get over there and have a look.

I hold you up to see the eggs,
five of them, blue as April sky.
You cling on with your toddler legs,
observing them so solemnly.

Five of them, blue as April sky,
each one a fragile, freckled womb;
observing them so solemnly,
we hope that they will make it through –

each one a fragile, freckled womb,
holding an ugly, hairless thing.
we hope that they will make it through,
and in July, we’ll hear them sing.

Holding an ugly, hairless thing,
in need of food, and warmth, and love,
and in July we’ll hear them sing
of earth below, and sky above.

In need of food, and warmth, and love,
I watch you grow and learn new things
of earth below, and sky above,
and start to spread your fledgling wings.

I watch you grow and learn new things; you cling on with your toddler legs, and start to spread your fledgling wings: I hold you up, to see the eggs.

My second pantoum for the dVerse form exploration, hosted this month by Gina. I have a love-hate relationship with pantoums. One day I will write the perfect pantoum, and then I WILL NEVER WRITE ONE AGAIN. It’s really hard to maintain sense and repetition, and keep it all flowing smoothly. This one comes close, I think right now, but doubtless I’ll come back to it in a couple of weeks, and shake my head over it. There are certainly a couple of continuity errors that I am hyper-aware of. However, this exploration is about growing as a poet and opening up to feedback, so I’m putting it out there. I’ve actually got less confident about it as I’ve written this explanation/justification, so I’m going to stop now.

I watched a crowd of rooks fly by –
“They’re on the search for food”, I said –
black cut-outs on a paper sky,
we see them, and we think of death.

“They’re on the search for food”, I said,
a cheerful democratic crew,
we see them, and we think of death;
they make me think of people, too.

A cheerful democratic crew,
leaders and stragglers make their way –
they make me think of people, too,
out shopping on a winter’s day.

Leaders and stragglers make their way, black cut-outs on a paper sky. Out shopping on a winter’s day, I watched a crowd of rooks fly by.

Gina is hosting at dVerse tonight, and we continue our exploration of forms. Gina brings us the pantoum – she’s given a really good description of it, if you want to read more. Basically it’s a series of interlocking, repeating couplets.

Frank is hosting at dVerse tonight. The theme is “blame and forgiveness”. I suspect there are some beautiful poems out there, full of glorious gentleness, but this has come out a bit bitter and twisted. Forgive me.

So good to be back with the gang, sip sipping at our memories, like a bee sips at nectar, and, yes, the laughter, the music, the booze, the laughter again, that walk that we do – clumping and separating, but mostly the talking and talking

February fill-dyke – hard to love when the sky is dish-cloth grey and the rain runs tumble tilt down the lane. and the wind is a slap, not a kiss, but today the sky is bird-song blue and I believe in spring.-

The De-light-ful De is hosting at dVerse, and it’s quadrille night! Our word is “kiss” . Come and play with us!

He bought her invisible roses – filled her arms with them – petals insistent against her skin – piled them round her – petals feathering against her lips – and the smell of them – deep as wine – heaped them in great drifts – until she sank beneath the weight of them invisible.

Merril is hosting dVerse tonight, and we are asked to think about all things invisible.